Checking out the tightly-contested City Council primary races

Some may say it's a sleepy mayoral race. But there are hotly-contested city council races across the city. NY1 Political Reporter Courtney Gross has this look at some of those contests.

It was September 11 and they were still campaigning: Tight races across the city meant candidates were not taking a break before Tuesday's primary.

One of the most closely-watched races is a Queens Democratic primary. State Assemblyman Francisco Moya faces off against the scandal-scarred Hiram Monserrate, who was kicked out of the state senate in 2010 and then served time in prison for misusing city funds.

"That's in my past, and we move forward," Monserrate said. "I'm asking the community residents to give me another chance. Everyone deserves another chance."

"People don't want to go back to the past," Moya said. "People see the corruption, the scandals — that's not what they want."

Elsewhere, NY1 is watching at least 14 races across the city. The vast majority of them are open seats, with their current occupants pushed out by term limits.

One such example is the race in East Harlem and the South Bronx for the council seat currently held by Melissa Mark-Viverito , who is term-limited. The leading contenders for the eighth district are the local assemblyman Robert Rodriguez and community leader Diana Ayala.

Other state lawmakers are trying to trade in their seats. In the Bronx, State Sen. Ruben Diaz is in a tight race to replace Annabel Palma. There are four other candidates on the ballot: William Russell Moore, Elvin Garcia, Amanda Farias, and Michael Beltzer.

In the open seats, candidates are flooding the ballot, which means it could take just a few thousand votes to win the primary.

Take the second council district in Manhattan, which has six candidates on the ballot: Jasmin Sanchez, Ronnie Cho, Erin Hussein, Mary Silver, Carlina Rivera, and Jorge L. Vasquez.

Cho revealed Monday that his support comes in pinstripes; his campaign said he had Derek Jeter's endorsement. The campaign later rolled back that endorsement, saying the all-star instead appreciated what the candidate had done for the community.

Elsewhere, some incumbents are fighting to hold onto their seats.

On Staten Island, City Councilwoman Debi Rose has a significant challenger in the form of Kamillah Hanks for the 49th district.

The candidates have had months to make their case to voters, and now it is down to turnout, who can get out the vote Tuesday.